Dare You to Move
by ice-woman
Summary: CHAPTER FOUR'S UP! This takes place during Season 4 of GG, and is a R/J shipper. There will be some R/D and some J/?. Don't worry, I'm going to make this as painful as possible for Jess, much as I love him. R/R and enjoy!
1. Outta Me, Onto You

Okay, this takes place in season 4. Rory's at Yale and it's set right before and then jumps to right after the episode where Jess comes back for his car. Scene starts the morning after Jess slips into the diner to sleep upstairs.

xXx

Jess groaned as he turned over onto his side, staring in bewilderment at the alarm clock flashing before him. It was five a.m. and talk radio was blaring, threatening to bore him to death before he even woke up. It took him a few moments after smashing the clock onto the floor to realize exactly where he was and exactly what he was doing here.

Of course, Luke had intended on sleeping here, so of course he still had the alarm set. He wasn't keen on being up so early, but he couldn't exactly go back to sleep either. Luke would be downstairs and he would want to try to slip out before the diner's doors opened. The less people who knew he was here, the better.

He shuffled to the bathroom where he used his finger to glob toothpaste across his teeth. After going to the bathroom and fidgeting with his hair for a few minutes, he slipped his book and keys back into his jacket pockets and then slipped into the familiar leather sleeves. He gazed out at an unsuspecting Star's Hollow, realizing, he wasn't quite ready to face all of the commotion, but knowing that he equally wasn't so ready to part with it forever, much as he wished he could.

Jess bounded down the stairs and flipped his collar up, hoping Luke was still in the kitchen. While he spotted no sign of Luke anywhere, he was rather shocked to see Lane weaving through tables, dispensing ketchup bottles and napkins as she dashed.

"Hey," he grumbled when she nearly jumped out of the window at his presence.

"Uh...hey, uh Jess," she replied, offering him a nervous smile, then quickly wiping it away as if remembering he didn't deserve of smile from her. Of course not, he thought. She would be the type of girl to inherently be mad at him for leaving. He couldn't quite blame her for that.

"Sorry," he shrugged. "I'm just...getting my car. Uh, you work here now?"

Lane nodded, opting to finish this conversation from behind the counter. "Yeah, um, Luke hired this kid for a while, but no one really liked him, and so, well, here I am."

"Got ya," he nodded, turning towards the door. He wanted to leave, but he knew there was nowhere open for hours...Gypsy wouldn't be at the shop until at least nine. "So, um, CBGB's?" he questioned, turning to Lane. "Congrats."

"What?" Lane asked, astonished. "Oh, right. The band. Well, we...we didn't actually get to play...we were supposed to, but we got cut. Um...did uh, Rory tell you about that?" she mused. "Because I didn't realize that you guys were in touch...I mean, not that it matters, I just didn't realize."

Jess shook his head. "Nope." He took a seat at the counter, figuring he might as well be in Lane's presence when Luke got here. It could spare him some aggravation. "I went back to New York for a month," he replied when he realized Lane must have been digging through her mind for any other possible solutions to his knowledge of her gig. "I know a bartender at CBGB's and while I didn't recognize the band name, he mentioned they were from some town with a weird name in Connecticut. He couldn't remember the name, just something about stars and said when he mentioned a Korean girl drummer, I thought of you. Asked if your name was Lane, and he looked at me like I was a psychic or something."

"Yeah, it was...well, would have been amazing. Anyway, just to be considered was such an honor, you know? And even though we didn't play, we signed the wall."

"Ah," Jess nodded. "_The wall._"

"Yeah," Lane nodded. "So I guess that's a little something."

"Pretty big something," Jess concluded.

Lane released a nervous sigh and began tapping anxiously on the counter.

"Look I get it," Jess offered after another minute or two of silence. "It's fine really. I didn't expect you to like, hug me or anything."

"That'd be a stretch," Lane agreed, but couldn't help but smile. "She's just doing really well and..."

"I get it," Jess nodded.

"I'm just afraid that..."

"I know," Jess agreed.

"She's just...I mean, it took her so long to..."

"To get over me?" Jess asked. He smiled at Lane. "I get it."

"Oh, no," Lane slipped. "I don't think she's over you. But it took her so long to start acting normally again. I mean, she couldn't even look at a Salinger book without...wow, I shouldn't be telling you any of this."

Jess fidgeted.

"I mean..."

"Lane, it's fine," Jess insisted. "I mean, it's not fine. What I did was not fine, but I didn't expect to come back and find Rory playing the Scarlet O'Hara to my Rhett Butler. I get it."

Lane nodded. "Okay." She returned to dispensing napkins, looking quite determined as she assembled them, until she finally let them all drop into a wide pile on the floor. "Why'd you do it?" she asked. "I mean, Rory never asked you for anything. Not a thing. If you weren't graduating, she would have helped you. If you couldn't go to prom, she would have understood. If you were in trouble she..."

"She couldn't have helped me," Jess insisted, shaking his head.

"You don't know that!" Lane remarked. "You can't just leave her and treat her like that and disappear and then just show up and expect..."

"Lane, calm down," Jess grumbled. "Look, I can't change anything I did and to tell you the truth, I can't say I would if I had the chance, because..."

"How can you say that? How can you honestly look at me and say that when Rory..."

"Rory wouldn't understand!" Jess barked, sighing as the words escaped his lips. "Look, Lane, you and I both know that Rory lucked out. She has this amazing mom and okay, so her dad's not so involved, but when he does come by, she's happy to see him, not angry or anything, right?"

"So what?"

"So, you should know better than anyone what it's like to live with a parent who doesn't understand you...what it's like to have to take care of yourself and not understand why anything you do isn't enough for them, you get me?"

"Yeah, I get you," Lane reluctantly agreed.

"So, when my dad came here, you can sure as hell bet I was pissed. I was fuming. But then...then he just took off and I would have never seen him again and I just...I needed to know. I don't even know what I wanted from him, but I needed something. I needed to see him. I needed to understand him. I needed his side, his story. I just needed to take the chance to find out if maybe he might have wanted something from me too."

Lane picked up the napkins quietly and sat down two stools from Jess. "Like maybe he wanted to get to know you?"

Jess shrugged. "It's stupid. And it was stupid. And I knew in the back of my mind that everyone was right. But maybe, if he saw me. If he knew how far I'd come...maybe he'd be sorry for everything or something."

"And?" Lane asked.

"Well, I'm not with him in California or anything, am I?" Jess asked.

Lane rolled her eyes. "You know, you make it easy to dislike you."

Jess nodded. "I know."

"Rory never disliked you."

"And I made it so easy," he teased.

Lane nodded. "You still could have told her."

Jess shook his head. "No. I couldn't have." He paused searching for the right words before turning back to Lane. "If I would have told her, she would have understood that much. She would have understood my need to see my dad and my wanting to find him, and everything else. You're right about that much. But she would have been here waiting for me when I got back, and nice as that all sounds, I didn't know if I was coming back. Part of me didn't want to. Part of me knew I'd be back in a day if I knew she was waiting. I needed to break all ties. I needed to hurt her in order to force her to move on, because she didn't deserve to have to wait for me to decide if maybe I was going to come back some day. It wasn't her job."

Lane nodded. "I get it Jess. I mean, I do...but Rory wouldn't have exactly been locking herself inside everyday praying that that day would be the day you'd return. She would have still went to Yale and continued school and lived her life."

"Maybe," Jess nodded. "But see, when my dad left, he didn't say goodbye. Didn't leave a note or a reason or anything. It made it easier, you know...to hate him. And that hate was what helped my mom and I move on and realize he wasn't coming back. If he would have left any indication of hope...my mom would have never gotten over him and she would still be waiting for him to come back to her."

Lane shrugged. "Okay," she agreed. "So then why'd you come back?"

"My car," Jess repeated.

"Yeah, but, Luke could have brought it to you. He probably would have preferred that."

Jess shrugged. "Didn't think of it."

Lane shook her head. "Not buying it. You were probably the smartest person in our grade. You mean to tell me it never crossed your mind? That you couldn't have had someone bring it to you? Or gotten it towed? Or..."

"Okay, you made your point," Jess grumbled, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Lorelai will probably kill you if she sees you," Lane informed him.

"I'd expect nothing more of her," Jess said, sauntering towards the door.

"I'm gonna have to tell her," Lane concluded. "Everything you said... I have to. So just...just do me a favor?"

Jess couldn't have looked more terrified. "What?"

"Tell her," Lane insisted. "You owe her that much. She deserves to hear it from you."

Jess looked Lane up and down, and then twisted the golden knob, the bells above the door jangling. "I'll think about it," he remarked, disappearing out into the street.

xXx

Then enter Season 4, Episode 13, leaving off right after Jess drives away after telling Rory he loves her.

xXx

"Rory? Rory? Are you okay?" Lane asked, flipping the open sign on the diner door to closed.

"What? Uh, yeah," Rory nodded, sipping the cup of coffee Lane had filled for her. "I'm good."

Lane grabbed the coffee pot and set it down on Rory's table then joined her. "Are you sure it's cool if I stay in your room for a while? Lorelai really doesn't mind? Because I could totally see if I..."

"No, no, that's fine," Rory nodded. "Mom doesn't care and it'll probably keep her from feeling like a spinster or something."

"Okay," Lane smiled. "Good. 'Cause Luke offered me Jess's old room upstairs, but I thought that might be a tad bit weird."

Rory laughed. "Luke can't handle another prog rock kid."

"Officially offended," Lane pouted.

"Officially thirsty," Rory commented, pouring herself another cup of coffee. "You know," she began, pausing to take a sip. "I like you working here. It makes me feel at home again, because with my being at Yale, coming back here sometimes feels weird...but now that you work here, it's like I can come in at any time and always feel like I belong."

"Rory, you could move to Alaska for ten years and still be welcomed back here," Lane insisted. "Stop with the pity party. The town loves you and you're stuck with us for as long as you live."

"I guess," Rory nodded.

"So..."

"So?" Rory began.

"So Jess," Lane nodded.

"Yeah."

"Did he say anything to you?" Lane asked.

Rory shrugged. "He was doing that whole verbal resistance thing."

"Ah," Lane nodded. "And he's gone?"

Rory shrugged again. "I think so. But I don't know. I hope so."

"You do?"

"Well...yeah. Maybe. I don't know," Rory replied honestly. "I mean, I want him to do well, you know? And maybe he can do better on his own. Or maybe he can't. So maybe he should come back. I don't know, Lane. It's too much to deal with."

Lane nodded. "So he didn't say _anything_ to you?"

"Well..." Rory started. "I ran away from him and it looked like...like he wanted to say something, but..."

"But he didn't?" Lane scoffed, shaking her head. "That jerk. I cannot believe that he couldn't even muster up the decency to..."

"Well, he did say something," Rory interrupted.

"Really? What?"

"Nothing too insightful," Rory insisted. "I mean...just a sentence."

"A sentence can be very powerful," Lane argued. "Did he do that crooked smile and tilting his head down thing that he always used to do when talking to you? 'Cause you seriously were a sucker for that maneuver."

"I am not a sucker," Rory defended. "And no...well, yes, he did that."

"But what did he say? Come on, Rory, I'm _dying_ here!"

"Well," Rory started, looking down into her coffee cup. "He just said that...well, he said he loved me."

Lane paused, taking a moment to allow the sentence to fill the air between them. "Wow," she concluded at last. "Wow. What nerve. He said, "I love you" and then he...."

"Left," Rory finished. "Drove away. Nearly ran me over in the process."

"Well, sure, because flattening you with a statement like that wasn't nearly powerful enough," Lane choked.

"I guess," Rory said sullenly.

"Luke's gonna be a medieval knight!" Lorelai announced, pushing open the diner door with Luke trailing behind her.

"I am not," he scoffed, hanging his coat up.

"You totally promised," Lorelai pouted. "You said that if I hit on that twitchy guy and kept a straight face, you'd totally wear that knight costume that T.J..."

"Who's T.J.?" Lane asked.

"Oh, Liz's boyfriend."

"Oh," Lane nodded. "Who's Liz?"

"Luke's sister," Lorelai replied just as Rory said, "Jess's mom."

"_Oh_," Lane nodded. "Damn family dynamics."

Rory raised her eyebrows and swallowed a large gulp of coffee.

"Honey, you okay?" Lorelai asked, sitting down across from her.

"I'm a pancake," she insisted, peering helplessly at Lane.

"You want pancakes?" Luke asked, baffled.

"No, no," Lane insisted. "She's metaphorically a pancake."

"Oh," Luke nodded. "Well, uh, I'm gonna whip up some pancakes anyway, because I'm not good with this metaphorical stuff."

"And french toast," Lorelai added.

"Right," Luke grumbled, disappearing into the kitchen.

"Sweetie talk to mommy."

"Die," Rory groaned.

"Well now," Lorelai breathed. "What'd Ponyboy say?"

"You're not cute," Rory insisted. "Your typical literary references are not humorous or helpful."

"Chachi?"

"Die twice."

"Oh, now," Lorelai insisted, stroking Rory's hair. She turned to Lane. "Was it bad."

"She's a pancake," Lane nodded.

"A really, really thin one," Rory agreed.

"Duh. No fat chicks!" Lorelai announced.

"Not funny," Rory insisted.

"We're closed!" Lane yelled, climbing to her feet as the bells above the diner door clamored. "Sorry, but you're gonna have to...oh...uh..." Lane paused as Jess pushed his way through the door, shutting it loudly behind him.

"Where's Luke?" he asked Lane, avoiding looking at Rory or Lorelai.

"Kitchen," Lane replied dumbly, unsure what else to say.

"'Kay," Jess nodded, pushing past Lane to the back of the diner.

"Wow," Lorelai whispered once he had disappeared. "I thought he was leaving."

"Me too," Lane nodded.

"Honey, let's go," Lorelai prompted, attempting to pull Rory up.

"No," Rory insisted, shaking her head. "You two leave."

"Rory, honey, are you sure this is the best idea?" Lorelai asked, unconvinced.

Rory shook her head. "No, but I'm not leaving."

"Sweetie, it's just that you're doing really well now at Yale and now that he's here, I just wonder if it might be better if you just avoid him until he's gone and then everything can go back to normal and..."

"And what, I can just pretend that he never came back?" Rory questioned. "I can't do that. He came back and I want to know why. In fact, I have a plethora of unanswered questions that..."

"That may be better off left unanswered," Lorelai suggested.

"No," Lane shook her head. "Rory's right."

"Says the girl who suggested hanging Jess's photo above the coffee pot in order for customers to use as a dartboard," Lorelai remarked, shocked.

"I'll explain on the way home," Lane insisted, pulling Lorelai towards the door.

"Rory," Lorelai tried one last time.

"Not budging," Rory insisted.

"Damn stubborn pancakes," Lorelai grumbled as Lane pulled her outside.

Rory tapped her foot nervously as the voices in the kitchen became louder and closer to her, unsure of whether she shouldn't just follow her mother's advice and leave the situation unresolved. She wasn't sure she actually wanted to know the truth. She wasn't certain whether the truth would hurt less than his vanishing.

"I'm not fooling around with you this time," Luke bellowed. "You will finish high school, you will graduate..."

"Done," Jess mumbled.

"What do you mean done?" Luke remarked angrily. "I'm not messing around Jess. I mean it."

"I mean I got my GED," Jess sighed. "Should have done it ages ago. Piece of cake."

Luke shook his head and grabbed Jess by his jacket. "You'll go to college."

"Fine," Jess agreed, unenthusiastically, ripping himself away from Luke's grasp.

"You'll have to pay rent," Luke muttered.

"Fine," Jess mumbled.

"Which means you'll need a job."

"I have a job," Jess insisted.

"Oh, no you don't," Luke shook his head. "Lane works here now. Not you."

"Don't have a brain hemorrhage," Jess remarked. "I have a job in New Haven."

"You have a job in New Haven?" Luke remarked incredulously. "You've been home one day...how do _you_ have a job in New Haven?"

Jess sighed. "Publishing place I was working for in Philly. The guys wanted to relocate. We found some prospects in New Haven. It was either here or Baltimore, and I'm just not the aquarium type of guy."

"Prospects? Publishing place? Philly?" Luke blabbered.

"Alliteration for five hundred Alec," Jess muttered.

Luke rolled his eyes. "So move to New Haven."

"I tried. My plans fell through."

"Why?"

"Just did."

"_Jess_," Luke hissed in frustration. "Why do you want to stay here anyway?"

"Look, you said it yourself, this T.J. guy is bad news..."

"He's not so bad..."

"Well, mom can't take care of herself..."

"Oh, and you can?" Luke laughed.

"Better than she ever could," Jess defended.

"I'll give you that," Luke offered.

Jess shrugged. "She'll do better if we're both around," he insisted.

"When did you become the family man?" Luke toyed.

Jess sighed, looking towards the floor. "Yes or no?"

Luke exhaled and scratched at his chin, finally giving in. "All right. But you'll need a roommate. You can't afford the place on your own."

"Fine," Jess agreed.

"I have to approve of the roommate," Luke added.

"You will," Jess nodded.

"Got someone in mind?" Luke asked, surprised.

"A likely candidate," Jess nodded.

"Who?"

"You'll see."

"Jess."

"Trust me."

"Ha, funny words coming from a..." Luke stopped quickly when he turned and saw Rory sitting quite uncomfortably at the front of the diner. "Rory," he began, turning back and forth between Jess and her. "I uh..." He stopped, unsure whether to allow Jess to speak to her or not. "Okay," he decided at last. "I'm going to go upstairs and in ten minutes, Jess, I expect you to be up there. Got it?"

"Got it," Jess muttered, looking hopefully towards Rory.

Luke shook his head as he slipped through the curtain covering the staircase and forced himself to continue upstairs and not to listen.

"Why are you..." Jess began quietly.

"No," Rory shook her head, climbing to her feet. "I really don't think you get to ask any questions."

"Can I ask one?"

"You just did," Rory insisted.

Jess crossed his arms. "Please?"

Rory rolled her eyes, walking closer towards the counter he was standing behind. "Fine. One."

"I think I'll save it," Jess nodded.

Rory sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Great question," Jess muttered. "See, we all ponder the existential dilemma of our lives and purposes here on this planet, and well, you know..."

"_Really?_" Rory remarked, instantly crushed. "You're really going to do this right now? You can't even take me seriously for a second?" She shook her head, turning away. "God, I knew this was a bad idea."

"No, no, no, Rory wait," Jess insisted, reaching across the counter and grabbing her forearm. "Wait."

"Why?"

"Because, I'm sorry," Jess insisted.

"For what?" Rory asked, turning back towards him.

Jess grimaced. "How much time do you have?"

"Leaving," Rory insisted, turning back around.

"Okay, okay, okay," Jess began. Rory stood still, but didn't turn back towards him. "For...for lots of things," he started. "I mean, for this...for joking with you when I should be groveling. For...for...acting like a jerk. For not being smart enough to realize the opportunity I destroyed."

Rory turned on her heel. "You're plenty smart, Jess."

Jess shrugged. "You're only as smart as the opportunities you seize."

"What are you a philosopher now?"

Jess looked down. "I wish I would have told you. When...when I decided to go. But...but I was scared and...and I wasn't even sure I'd follow through with it. I was so convinced that I'd just take the bus to the farthest stop and just come back home...but then...I realized that it really was that easy...to just go. That maybe...maybe you'd be better off...and...and the farther I went, the harder it was to figure out what to do. And so...so I just..."

"Decided not to tell me anything?" Rory remarked, her voice edgy.

"I called," Jess insisted.

"Yeah, I know," Rory nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears. "I answered."

"I know," Jess nodded.

"You didn't say a word," Rory recapped.

"Yeah," Jess shrugged. "I was afraid of what you might say."

"So why call at all?" Rory demanded.

"Well...I guess...I guess I figured that maybe you'd at least know I was still thinking about you. That maybe...maybe you'd understand why I couldn't say anything. Maybe you'd get it."

Rory sighed, sliding down onto the stool in front of her. "I know why you didn't talk Jess. I just want to hear you say it."

Jess leaned across the counter, taking Rory's hands in his. "All right," he started, forcing himself to look at her face. "Rory Gilmore...you scare the hell out of me."

Rory remained untouched. "Explain."

Jess squeezed her hand. "It's just that...that you have this...this power over me and I felt like such a failure...not graduating...that night at that party where I was...such a jerk...and even the whole prom thing. I'm...I'm not used to anyone depending on me. I didn't know how to handle it."

"You should have talked to me," Rory insisted, pulling her hands away. "I mean, you apologizing doesn't make this all better, Jess."

"I know," Jess nodded. "I um...just thought that you deserved better...that everyone in this ridiculous town was right. And my dad...he came to the diner one night and Luke tried to keep it from me which really just pissed me off. And then, then he came back and pretty much fled after three seconds of conversation and I just realize how much alike we were, you know? And I thought maybe, maybe if I could get some answers from him, then maybe I could get past it and just be better...and maybe be the kind of guy you wanted me to be..."

Rory shook her head. "I didn't want you to be anyone else," she insisted. "I liked everything about you, Jess. Even the things that drove me crazy. I just needed you to be there for me...to just suck it up and be there. I needed you to let me in, because I just constantly felt like you didn't care or...or something. And I get the whole dad thing, and it makes sense, but you really can't justify just disappearing."

Jess sighed. "I thought maybe you'd realize that it's what I did best and get over me. I thought that you moving on might be the best thing for you."

"Jess, stop it," Rory ordered. "I did everything I could to keep you here. And you wanted to leave, and you did. And...and I knew what I was getting into when I met you. I knew from that first stupid conversation where you wrote in my book and then when you bid on my basket and then when Dean got so upset...and I knew that Dean was this reliable, dependable guy, and I knew that you weren't like him, but I...I chose you anyway, Jess. How did that not say anything to you?"

"It did," Jess insisted. "It did, Rory. I was just so scared of fucking things up that I went and..."

"Fucked things up?" Rory offered.

Jess nodded. "Yeah."

"So are you staying?" Rory asked.

"For now," Jess started.

"_Jess_."

"Yeah, I'm staying," Jess said firmly.

"Okay," Rory nodded, getting up. "Good to know."

"Rory, wait," Jess pleaded.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"It's just...you're right," he began. "I'm not like Dean. And I'm never going to be with Dean, so any chance of that happening you have to get out of your head right now. I'm not going to be there at your beck and call and I'm not going to let my world revolve around you like he did. And you know that and you hated it half the time, but you can't hate me for not wanting to change who I am. I'm going to disappear sometimes and not want to talk and I'm not going to always know exactly what to do at any given moment, and I'll forget things, and I'll continue to hide behind my humor and shut you out."

"Thanks for the recap," Rory started, angrily.

"But isn't that why you like me?" Jess asked. "Isn't that why you picked me over him? Because as much as I may piss you off, I'm real. I'm not some fairy tale character prince like Dean. I'm real and I'm not sorry for who I am and I don't bend and always let you have your way. Because...because I challenge you and because it's so hard for me to open up, but when I do you know it's because I really care about you."

Rory paused by the door, her body trembling slightly. "Jess," she began. "We're not together."

Jess nodded. "Okay," he said meekly.

"I don't know that we'll ever be together again," she insisted, quiet but firm.

"Okay," he repeated. "But you don't know that we won't."

Rory looked up at him, wincing at the sight of his familiar blue eyes, resisting every urge to forgive him and hug him and just feel his arms around her again. She wanted to scream at him, to hit him, to kiss him, to _anything_ him...to make him understand all of the unwanted emotions he had made her feel for the past year. She wanted him to understand the depth of what he had put her through, to know that he couldn't just waltz back into her life and expect her to welcome him back. She wanted to hate herself for missing him, for nearly choking in relief at the news that he was staying. She wanted to make herself hate him and all at once she hated him for not being able to hate him. She wanted to tell him she didn't care if he stayed or left, that she didn't care about anything involving him at all. She wanted to stop staring idiotically at him, praying he got the message.

There were too many options to choose from and none offered the satisfaction and conviction she was hoping for, so instead, she chose to turn the door handle.

"Do I still get my question?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Rory shut her eyes, refusing herself the option of turning around. She opened her mouth to say something, but all at once her words were forgotten.

"Do you...did you...you said once on the phone when I was in California...you said you thought you might have loved me. Is that true?"

Rory bit her lip. "Pick another question."

"I don't want to."

"Then, I can't help you," she replied, pulling the door taut behind her as she exited. Tears began welling in her eyes as she hit the street, but she willed her legs to keep a perfectly steady motion, in case he was watching her. He wouldn't see her hurt. He wouldn't see her cry. She wouldn't let him think he could still affect her in any way.

She cut through an alley so to keep her distance from the firelight festival, and managed to suck up her pain and blot her eyes. By the time she reached her house, she was convinced she looked almost normal, and willed herself to stay composed when she saw Lane and her mother waiting on her front porch.

"Well?" Lane asked eagerly.

"Is he staying?" Lorelai dove in.

Rory nodded. "Yeah. Looks that way."

"And you?" Lorelai prodded. "Are you okay with that?"

Rory nodded again. "No big deal," she lied, angry that her mom and best friend would never dream of believing her.


	2. Roll With It

Chapter Two's Up! Sorry for the delay...my laptop was down for two weeks! I'm already working on Chapter 6, so I promise to update MUCH sooner! R/R!

xXx

Jess grabbed the menus out from Lane's hands, both scaring and angering her. "Morning," he grinned.

"Jess!" she snapped, snatching the menus back. "You can't have my job," she insisted.

"Don't need it," he assured her. "Wow, you sure do make this place shine."

"Stop it," she ordered, slamming the menus down. "What do you want?"

Jess smiled. "I hear you're in the neighborhood for a place to live."

"So?"

"So, I happen to have a proposition for you," he grinned.

"Oh lord," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Jess, I will absolutely not be propositioned by you."

Jess winced. "Wouldn't dream of it, kid."

"Good to know."

"Okay, but really," Jess started again. "What would you say if I told you I knew of this really nice place with close proximity to your job and really cheap rent."

"How cheap are we talking?" Lane bit, taking the bait.

Jess raised his eyebrows. "Two fifty."

"Impossible."

"The landlord is highly out of touch with reality, particularly cost of living."

"Go on," Lane goaded.

"And, you would have ample opportunity to annoy Taylor."

"Is it heaven?" Lane joked.

"Close," Jess grinned. "It's the apartment above Taylor's Ice Cream Shoppe, right next to the diner. Luke just finished fixing it up."

"So, why didn't he offer it to me himself?" Lane questioned.

"Please, Luke would never dream of you living alone. He'd freak."

"So who am I living with?" Lane asked.

Jess grinned.

"Oh, _no_," Lane shook her head. "No way."

"I'm very neat," Jess smiled.

"No," Lane insisted, shaking her head. "Absolutely not."

"Come on," Jess began. "You can't stay at Lorelai's forever. And you'll never find anywhere cheaper. Plus, utilities are included and I can rig us some cable and..."

Lane slammed down the box of coffee filters she had been struggling with. "Jess, look, even if I decided I could stomach living with you, I would still be obligated to say no."

"Why?"

"Oh, come on, don't act all innocent on me," Lane huffed. "Rory, Jess. I would have to say no because Rory..."

"Wants you to be homeless?"

"Leave."

"Sure," Jess started. "But be fair. Talk to Rory about it and see if she doesn't change your mind, because I have a strong feeling she'd rather you be living in your own place than sleeping on a couch."

"I have Rory's room."

"When Rory's not there," Jess insisted. "It's got to be kind of inconvenient for you."

"It's fine."

"Talk to Rory," Jess pressured her. "If she finds it weird, say no. If she doesn't mind it, then come find me and you can look at the place before deciding."

Lane bit her lip. "Well..."

"You can have the bigger bedroom," he offered.

"I don't know..."

"Walk-in closet," Jess dangled.

"I..."

"Two bathrooms."

"Sold!" Lane all but shouted. "I mean. Well...if Rory says it's okay."

"Find me when you're ready, roomie," Jess grinned, grabbing a danish as he left.

xXx

"Marco!" Lorelai yelled, pushing through the swamp of clothes on the floor.

"Polo," Rory grumbled, barely lifting her head from the spot where she lie collapsed on the floor.

"Did the washer explode?" Lorelai questioned.

"Something like that," Rory yawned. "Too many clothes."

"And to think of all those kids in Africa just dying for a cashmere sweater."

"Shush," Rory mumbled, accepting Lorelai's extended hand and pulling herself up. They climbed out of the mess in the laundry room and sat down in the kitchen. "Did you talk to Tom?"

"Tom my carpenter, Tom?"

"Yes, big guy, yellow tool belt, likes to yell?" Rory joked.

"What was I supposed to talk to him about?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, nothing in particular, I guess," Rory began. "It's just that Dean called and said Tom offered him a job, so I was wondering if he took the job and..."

"Dean called?" Lorelai paused.

"Well, yeah. He wanted to make sure it wouldn't be weird if he accepted Tom's offer," Rory explained. "You know, with us not coming to the wedding and all."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, well, I saw Dean there today, and I didn't really think much into it."

"Oh, okay," Rory nodded. "Just was wondering."

"Oh, honey, Lane left a note asking you to come by Luke's...something about a potential new living quarters."

"And leave our humble abode?" Rory frowned.

Lorelai nodded. "She can't stay here forever, Rory. I mean, I love having her, but she wouldn't feel right about it. You know Lane."

"Yeah," Rory agreed. "Very true. Well, look, I have to bring some of these clothes back to Yale with me and I'll be back for the rest next week."

"Next week?"

"Spring break," Rory nodded. "Paris had some wild idea about going to a beach, but I don't think I'm going to go."

"Honey, you should," Lorelai insisted. "You could work on that alcohol addiction of yours, find new uses for whipped cream, and maybe even get your stomach pumped. It's like a right of passage."

"Well when you put it that way," Rory grinned.

"I'm just saying that it could be fun."

"There is no way that going to a beach with Paris could be anywhere near the realm of fun."

"Bring Lane," Lorelai suggested.

"Eh, maybe," Rory finished. "But right now, I have to get back to school."

"After Luke's," Lorelai reminded her.

"Right, right, after Luke's," Rory promised.

xXx

"Are you going to kill me?" Rory asked, confused as to why they were sneaking down the alley next to Taylor's Ice Cream Shoppe.

"Well, now would I be a good assassin if I told you?" Lane pouted, leading her through a doorway and up a set of stairs.

"Are we going to kill Taylor? 'Cause if so, I'm going to need some more coffee first."

"Close your eyes," Lane giggled, as she led her through another door. "Okay, okay, open."

Rory quickly opened her lids, startled by the sight before her. She was standing in a vast room with a large picture window, and to her left was a small kitchenette with a breakfast bar. "Oh wow!" she remarked, recalling the reason for her venture to Luke's. "Is this...is this yours?"

Lane grinned, rushing down a long hallway. "Hopefully! Well, maybe. Okay, come here and look at this."

Rory followed the sound of her friend's voice into another room with a window seat.

"This would be my room," Lane explained, ushering her to the large closet in the corner of the room. "Isn't it awesome? I mean, it has this eccentric feel to it and I could blast my music and disrupt Taylor and it's so retro-mod, isn't it?"

Rory nodded. "Definitely Lane Kim-esque," she agreed.

Lane beamed and opened another door. "And, here's my bathroom," she pointed out. "Which is small, but hey, it's a bathroom."

"Very bathroomy," Rory grinned. "Lane, this is so exciting! Your own place!"

"I know!" Lane squealed jumping up and down. "Oh wait! Here's the other room," she said, leading Rory into a room at the very end of the hallway.

"Wow," Rory said, scoping it out. "Not as big, but decent closet, and built in bookshelves...definitely an added perk. You should take this one!"

"Rory, I'm not you," Lane reminded her, patting her on the back. "But my roommate would love it."

Rory thought for a moment, her face falling. "Lane, no."

"You guessed?" Lane asked, disappointment quickly spreading across her face. "Oh Rory...it's just...okay, well, tell me what you're thinking."

"Lane, it's beautiful, really, but I...I can't move in with you," Rory said gently. "As much as I hate bunking with Paris, living at the college has it's own unique feel to it, and I don't know...I kind of like it there...are you mad?"

Lane laughed. "Rory, I was not asking you to move in with me," she remarked, ushering a sigh of relief.

"Oh!" Rory exhaled. "God, I'm sorry...I just thought that the bookshelves..."

"Well, maybe my new roommate will enjoy the bookshelves. He may read," Lane began.

"He?" Rory asked.

"Or she," Lane added quickly.

"Lane, what's going on?" Rory asked nervously. "Just say it."

Lane exhaled. "Okay, so, um, here's the thing...this place is owned by Luke."

"Yeah, I figured...I mean he bought this building so, I kind of assumed he got the upstairs too."

"Right," Lane continued on. "And well, Luke would never allow me to live alone, you know how chivalrous he is, even if it's hard to see..."

"He's certainly old-fashioned," Rory agreed.

"...but see if I had a roommate..."

"Then he'd feel better about you living here," Rory concluded. "Understandable."

"Right, so the thing is, he kind of offered the place to someone already, and well, I didn't even know about it until that someone came to me, and while it's not the most ideal of situations, I think it might just work and that maybe I should at least give it a shot."

"Of course you should," Rory agreed. "Just because you're going to community college doesn't mean that you don't deserve to have the whole roommate experience. Plus, I bet Luke would give it to you for a fair price."

"A phenomenal price," Lane added.

"Even better."

"Like an unbeatable, impossible to say no to under any situation price," Lane rambled.

"That's amazing," Rory said.

"Like, it would be completely idiotic of me to let this opportunity slip through my fingers when..."

"Okay, Lane, I'm not quite following, because, see, I'm on your side and agreeing with you, but it seems like you're insisting on arguing with me," Rory speculated. "And I have to get back to school, so if you could wrap this up."

"Right," Lane said, positioning herself right in front of Rory. "Okay, here goes. Don't freak, and if you don't like it, tell me and I won't do it. This is your call."

"Strange, but shoot."

"So um, the other person is um...well...it's um...Jess," Lane's voice descended.

"Jess?" Rory repeated.

Lane nodded. "I know, it's weird. And I would say no if it wasn't for the amazingly insane low price of this place...and the convenience of it. And well, I don't _want_ to live with Jess, but Rory I don't want to live on your couch either, or bombard you at Yale, and well, it's a place of my own...and really if you think about it, Jess and I are just doing each other a favor by coming up with half of the rent, and I doubt we'll even see each other that much, and well..."

Rory threw up her hands signaling for Lane to stop. "Jess," she said out loud, nodding her head. She turned to Lane. "You love this apartment," she deciphered.

"I didn't want to, but I really do," Lane pleaded.

"Well then, you should have it," Rory insisted. "Jess or no Jess. I mean, you guys will probably rarely even see each other..."

"Rarely as in never," Lane promised.

"And even if you do, it's not a big deal...he'll probably stick to his room," Rory rambled.

"Duh, the kid's a complete loner."

"Plus you could have Dave over," Rory pointed out.

"I know, I thought of that," Lane squealed.

Rory exhaled. "Okay. You should do it. I mean, it's not fair that because Mrs. Kim wanted to control your life that you should miss out on experiences like this. You deserve to be happy, and well, if this will make you happy..."

"So happy," Lane insisted.

"Then you should do it," Rory reaffirmed. "I mean, I have to get used to the fact that Jess will be living here from now on, so this...this is good."

"Really?" Lane was unconvinced. "Because, if you really don't want me to, Rory, I swear I won't."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Torment him incessantly with the indie music he hates."

Lane pinky-sweared. "I do solemnly vow to blast Tegan and Sara as well as the melancholy and depressing ballads of Bright Eyes strategically throughout the day."

"And that chick with the accent he can't stand?" Rory asked. "With the weird hair?"

"Regina Spektor will try her best," Lane grinned, hugging her friend. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Rory droned, sporting a happy masquerade as she hugged her friend back, knowing that this arrangement would never be as innocent and easy as Lane made it out to be.

xXx

"You need a good tan," Lorelai argued.

"I'll get skin cancer," Rory protested, using her shoulder to hold the phone to her ear as she tied her sneakers. "Besides, I told Lane I'd help her paint tomorrow."

"Is she still stuck on sunset orange for the living room," Lorelai asked.

"Yep," Rory said, stuffing three books in her backpack. "She said something about it setting the right tone."

"Luke will freak."

"I think that's the tone she's going for," Rory nodded. "Look, mom, I have to go before Paris coerces me into going bikini shopping. I'll be in town either tonight or tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll kick the homeless man out of your bed."

"Homeless man wouldn't happen to be named Jason, now would he?"

"Oh, now, don't tease," Lorelai grumbled.

"Things aren't going well?" Rory asked, concerned.

"Well, let's just say we don't have any food in common, and he started calling me 'Lori'."

"Poor guy," Rory said, shaking her head.

"Yes, well, we'll see how it goes," Lorelai replied.

"Alright mom, gotta go."

"Bye kid."

"Bye."

"Rory!"

"Paris?" Rory said, turning towards the now open door. "What the..."

"I went tanning," she explained. "And now I'm..."

"A human lobster?" Rory offered.

"This is terrible," Paris remarked.

"Well, at least it's not on your face," Rory pointed out.

"I'm not going."

"Oh, but you were really looking forward to it!" Rory remarked. "And I'm sure plenty of people will be sunburned and uh..."

"I think I have boils on my back."

"Ew," Rory scrunched her nose. "Over-share."

"What are you doing?" Paris asked, curious.

Rory shrugged. "Going home. One of Lane's bandmates is having a party. I told her I couldn't go, but now I'm thinking I might as well. Nothing to do around here."

"Oh, yeah, right," Paris said, sitting down on her bed.. "Well, I figured I'd get a jump start on my term papers, maybe write a few advance articles for the paper, or um, organize my gluesticks, you know, basic, fun, spring break-type activities."

Rory sighed. "Fine."

"Fine what?" Paris asked, innocently.

"Fine, you can come with me," Rory remarked.

"Me?" Paris grinned. "Oh, well, if you insist...I mean, at least I can wear a long sweater and no one will notice the potential cancer I have festering all over my body. I mean, it's a small town party, I doubt anyone will be that aware."

"Gee thanks," Rory rolled her eyes. "You're not inviting Professor Flemming."

"Oh please!" Paris laughed. "Like he'd come to a small town bonfire or shin dig or whatever it is you kids are calling it these days."

"Well, I'm stopping by the paper then going to my grandmother's for dinner," Rory announced. "If you want, just meet me at my house."

"What about that diner?" Paris questioned. "They have great food."

"Fine," Rory agreed. "We'll meet there at nine thirty."

"Okay," Paris grinned. "Rory?"

"Yes, Paris?"

"Thank you."

"Sure."

xXx

"Honestly Lorelai I just don't understand why you can't bring yourself to succumb to one night at the opera."

"Opera's are slutty," Lorelai yawned. "And Bryce Fairborn is the most insolent, boring soul that I've ever encountered...plus..."

"My goodness!" Emily remarked. "His mother and I go way back. I swear, I don't know how Rory became so polite with you as her mother."

"Mrs. Kim," Lorelai concluded.

"Definitely," Rory agreed. "I was scared to even ask to use the bathroom."

"Oh honestly," Emily muttered, polishing off her martini. "Rory, what do you have planned for Spring Break?" Emily asked excitedly.

"Oh, now, Emily, leave the girl be," Richard remarked, looking up from his newspaper. "Spring break is a time during which Rory does not have to take any responsibility for her actions."

"What?" Lorelai asked, shocked. "My how the times have changed."

Rory giggled. "No, I'm not doing anything crazy, grandma. I'm pretty much helping my friend Lane move into her new apartment and spending the week at mom's, doing nothing but relaxing and having fun."

"Facials, shopping, and learning how to dance like Mariah Carey?" Lorelai offered, causing Emily to frown.

"Finishing the book I just bought, doing laundry, and probably scanning amazon for good book deals," Rory translated.

"She sure knows how to let loose this one," Lorelai remarked.

"Silence crazy woman," Rory insisted.

"Well, now, Richard, won't you look at the time!" Emily remarked.

"It's uh, eight thirty mom," Lorelai reported.

"Is it?!" Richard remarked. "My it's late!"

"What?" Lorelai argued. "We just nearly finished dinner and we haven't even had dessert."

"Yeah," Rory realized.

"Well, now you could do without some dessert now and then Lorelai," Emily insisted.

"Did you just insinuate what I think you just insinuated?" Lorelai asked, mortified.

"Oh, come now, I was just saying that maybe..."

"Lorelai, really, it's late and your mother and I are tired," Richard concluded.

"Wow, um, well, okay," Lorelai remarked, slipping her coat on. "But uh, next time you're going to do this, why not just skip dinner altogether so that Rory and I can have a full meal either before or after we arrive. Or um, why not skip the driving here in person thing, because there's no point driving so far for just a half hour dinner and..."

"Goodnight Lorelai," Emily said, rushing her outside. "Goodbye Rory."

"Bye grandma," Rory said, grabbing her coat on her way out. "Well, that was weird," she said, turning to her mom.

"You're telling me," Lorelai remarked. "You know, I'm a little offended. I'm superb company and I think my McCain jokes were quite on point tonight..."

"Very on point...borderline harsh," Rory agreed.

"Thank you!" Lorelai exclaimed. "And to rush us out like that! The nerve!"

"The wonders never cease," Rory commented, climbing into her mom's car.

"So you want to go right back to the school?" Lorelai asked.

Rory shook her head. "Actually, Luke's please."

"Pumpkin pie?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"Please, he hasn't made that in years," Rory reminded her. "I told Paris I'd meet her there. Lane's band's playing a few songs at some party and I wasn't going to go, but I figured I might as well make an appearance."

"That's my good little loner," Lorelai teased. "Paris isn't going to that beach thing?"

"Nope. Let's just say her artificial sun exposure experience wasn't pleasant, so she decided that real contact with the sun would be anything but fun."

"Red never was her color."

"Here here!" Rory laughed.

"So um, are you sure you're okay with this whole thing?" Lorelai started, a bit gentler.

Rory furrowed her brow. "Well, Paris isn't Party Time Barbie or anything, but come on, neither am I, so..."

"Honey, I meant the whole Lane moving in with Jess thing," Lorelai replied.

"Oh," Rory said. "That. Luke told you?"

"And Lane," Lorelai confessed. "In fact I heard from just about every person in Star's Hollow except you."

"It's not that big of a deal," Rory insisted. "Lane's so psyched about the apartment. And Jess will never really be there. I don't know. It's weird, but it's a really good opportunity for Lane."

"Okay," Lorelai said. "Ew. Are they going to have to share bathrooms?"

"Gross," Rory laughed. "No, Lane has her own and then I'm guessing Jess will use the bathroom right off of the hallway."

"Good, because guys and girls sharing bathrooms don't mix well," Lorelai informed her.

"Plus, Lane can blast music and annoy Taylor," Rory added.

"Ah, the hidden perks of hell," Lorelai nodded. "Almost cancels out the whole living with Jess thing, huh?"

"Yeah," Rory replied. "Almost."

xXx

R/R! Much more to come in Chapter three including an alcohol-infused Rory...uh oh!


	3. what how when where why who

Sidenote: I realized that at this point in the series, Dave was written out of the show as he was now filming The OC. However, let's pretend he never left, because frankly, I adored him with Lane. And, do not worry. There will be NO Jess/Lane at all. Lane is nothing if not loyal to Rory, and I think having anything develop between her and Jess (while mildly interesting) would be quite out of character and untrue to the show. So, it will NOT be happening. Never fear.

xXx

Rory threw her head back in exasperation as she waited for Paris. "This is ridiculous," she announced, knocking on the bathroom door at Luke's one more time.

"Okay, okay," Paris remarked, stepping out of the bathroom. "Will this do?"

"Yes," Rory said, pulling her arm towards the door.

"Rory, you didn't even look at me!"

"I'm sure it's fine," Rory remarked.

"Rory!"

Rory sighed, vowing to relax and appease Paris. It was in her best interest if she wanted to have a good time tonight. Paris was wearing a tan cord skirt, tan boots, and a green sweater with a pink tank top underneath.

"Unbutton the top button of the sweater," Rory groaned.

Paris smiled, doing as instructed. "Much better," she agreed.

"Sorry Luke," Rory grinned, offering him a sympathetic smile.

"Your mother's done much worse," Luke insisted. "I think I'm immune at this point."

"So noted," Rory nodded, turning back to Paris. "You look fine, and the tan stockings totally cover your sunburn. So are you ready?"

Paris frowned. "I like your outfit better."

"Well, you're not getting it," Rory remarked.

"But green's a better color on me than khaki," Paris informed her. "Although that skirt is rather short."

"It is not," Rory replied, offended. "It's barely above my knees and it's not like I'm not wearing black stockings so it really doesn't matter."

"Fine," Paris remarked, reaching for her coat. "Are we really walking there?"

"Paris, it's a block away," Rory reminded her.

"Oh, of course. This whole town's one big block."

"Luke?" Rory begged.

"You have my pity," he announced, busying himself with the coffee maker.

Rory rolled her eyes and pushed her way outside, tying her scarf snugly around her neck. She slipped her hands in her coat pocket as she made the left down Maple Street, Paris hurrying beside her.

"Are you going to drink?" Paris asked. "Because I feel like we should now. I mean, we are in college and that's what normal college kids do, and while you and I are not exactly typical, well, it is spring break, so basically, I just wanted you to know, that if you did want to drink...well, I wouldn't think less of you."

"Didn't know I had to run it by you," Rory grumbled.

"Hey," Paris said, grabbing Rory by the wrist to stop her from walking. "Are you mad at me?"

"No, Paris."

"I mean, did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"I mean, I showed up, I dressed the part, and I have made less than five cracks at your small town lifestyle," Paris reminded her. "I thought I was doing well."

"You are Paris."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?" Rory grumbled.

"Like you're determined to have a bad time, no matter what?" Paris asked. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."

Rory shot Paris a small half smile. "No, we're going. I'm sorry...I'm just distracted, and well, I do want to have fun. I'm sorry."

Paris grinned. "So what you're saying is that we're definitely drinking."

"I...no...I didn't..." Rory began, peering at the house in front of them with kids playing games outside and dancing wildly through the windows. She turned to Paris. "What the hell," she offered, which made Paris grin.

xXx

Jess sat across the street from the party at Lisa Monogan's house, contemplating on whether or not to actually go inside. He could use a beer to unwind, but all the commotion and all the whispering behind his back, well, he wasn't certain he felt like dealing with that.

Lane invited him last minute, telling him he ought to come by and check out her band, but he knew what the invite meant. It was a pity invite, given to him only because Lane was certain Rory wouldn't be there, and therefore what harm could be done by doing a good deed such as extending an invitation to the town's most hated youth?

He drummed his fingers on his knee anxiously, debating what to do next. He weighed the options quickly and decided that he might as well give this small town thing a try. Worse came to worse, he'd leave, walking the whole one block back to his new apartment and finish dissecting the new Chuck Klosterman.

"Hey," a low voice called from the front porch as he walked forward. "Jess right?"

Jess looked down at the girl who could be no older than sixteen drowning in her bottle of beer. "Yeah," he said, weaving past her to the door.

"I'm Zoey," she said, extending her hand. "You don't remember?"

Jess squinted. The girl was short and thin with long black slinky hair with blue highlights. She was probably thought to be exceedingly pretty, but she wasn't really his type. He liked some syllables with his words and this girl didn't look like she could spell sober, much less remain that way.

"No," he uttered finally.

She nodded, making a face that Jess recognized as her trying not to get sick. "We had art together," she said at last, grabbing onto the railing to steady her balance.

"Neat," he said, widening his eyes and opening the door, certain to shut her outside.

"Well, well, well, so the good news is true," a familiar voice half-sang. Jess groaned as he forced himself to turn around and face the unwelcome acquaintance.

"Didn't you get married or something?" Jess asked, looking up at Dean.

Dean remained silent for a moment. "Don't bother her."

"Your wife?" Jess toyed. "Scout's honor...course, your girls have been known to fall for me...I swear, I can't control it. Must be the whole turning words into sentences thing I have going on."

"You know who I mean," Dean hissed.

"And what's it to you?" Jess asked. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you have to take a vow to remain faithful to Lindsay or something like that?"

"What's your point?" Dean asked, teeth clenched.

"Point is, I don't think the little lady would find this conversation as stimulating as you and I both do. In fact, I think she'd be quite upset." Jess smirked. "Get over it," he muttered. "This isn't high school anymore."

Dean's eyes sparkled at this last sentence. "No, you're right, Jess. Those of us who graduated high school know that much."

Jess rolled his eyes. "Give me a break," he muttered.

"If you hurt her again..."

"Save it," Jess muttered, stopping Dean's fist with his palm.

"Whoa, whoa," a guy in a hockey jersey yelled, grabbing Dean. "Dude, let's get you home. He's so not worth it."

Should have stayed home, Jess thought, ducking into the kitchen. He grabbed an empty cup and scanned the room for any signs of a keg. Having no success, he eased through the open back door, where he instantly spotted two on the grass. He tilted his cup as he pumped then squeezed the trigger until his cup was full.

"_Wow_," remarked an amazed voice behind him. "I've been at it for minutes and not a drop!"

He spun around. "Paris?" he questioned.

"You know me?" she asked smiling, and handing him her cup which he promptly filled. She surveyed her hero of beer. "You're the guy who brought the food over," she remarked. "Salt and pepper dip guy."

"Glad I made such an impression," he muttered, handing her back her cup.

"I do not know how you just made that come out, but bless you," Paris giggled, taking a gulp of the liquid.

"Are you drunk?" Jess laughed.

Paris shook her head, nodded, then shook her head again. "I mean...I don't think so," she smiled. "What _is _drunk anyway?"

"Ah the eternal question surfaces again," Jess smirked.

"That's funny!" Paris remarked, slapping him on the shoulder, half of her beer flying out of her cup as she bounced. "I don't remember you being so funny."

"Thanks," Jess remarked, trying to slip back inside without her noticing.

"Paris!" Lane yelled, marching up to her. "Where have you been?! I've looked everywhere! Where's Rory?"

Paris shrugged. "I told her _I_ should wear the green skirt," she said matter-of-factly.

Lane shook her head, muttering to herself, as Paris fell into her.

"I don't feel so hot," Paris mumbled, grabbing a hold of Lane.

"Whoa, whoa," Jess began, helping Lane hold her weight.

"Dave!" Lane called, flagging him over. "A little help?"

"Someone should get her home," Jess said.

"Rory and I walked," Paris mumbled as Jess handed her over to Dave.

Lane rolled her eyes. "Look, Paris, Dave and I were getting ready to leave, so if you want, you can crash on our couch until we figure out where Rory is."

Paris nodded, stretching her arms out. "I'm flying!" she remarked, laughing and kicking her limbs up in the air as Dave wrestled to keep her from falling.

"Oh dear god," Lane muttered, shaking her head.

"You really should get Paris out of here. I mean, she's a safety hazard sober, but now look at her," Jess commented.

Lane couldn't help but grin. "Very true," she agreed. Her smile fell. "I don't know, Jess. Rory wasn't in the greatest shape last I saw her. She was lit before we even finished playing, and that was hours ago."

Jess paused. "Well, Dave, why don't you walk Paris back to Lane's and Lane and I will split up and look for Rory."

"Sounds swell," Dave muttered, eying Paris repulsively. "Dude," he insisted as she clutched his jacket. "Don't ruin the threads."

Lane laughed. "I'll make this up to you, _I promise_," she grinned, giving Dave a slight kiss.

Dave shook his head. "I learned hymns for you, I read the bible in one night, and now I have to drag a woman who could very well make the Jews cry out for Hitler home to your apartment and endure her tyranny until you return."

"Love you," Lane grinned, patting his back as he started off, mumbling all the while to himself. Lane turned to Jess. "Any ideas?"

"Maybe she went home?" Jess suggested.

Lane shrugged. "I don't know. We tore the house apart. She's definitely not inside. Paris told me Rory's mom picked her up from Yale, so we can rule out her taking the car anywhere, thank god, because she could hardly blink let alone drive."

"This _is _Rory we're talking about right?" Jess asked. He was finding it hard to fathom that Rory could be as drunk as Lane was describing.

Lane nodded. "Revert you memory back to a year ago if you will, where the evening started with laughter and music and ended with you and Dean tumbling through Kyle's house and me puking in the bushes. Remember how bad I was? Well, Rory makes me look like a saint. She was out of her mind and I can't believe I just let her..."

"Okay, okay, calm down," Jess insisted. He didn't have the time to experience the awkwardness of comforting Lane. "Don't get hysterical, that won't help anything."

"Right," Lane nodded. "So, should I check her house?"

Jess nodded. "You can't let Lorelai know she's missing though. That wouldn't be good."

"I'll tell Lorelai I got locked out and needed the spare key to our apartment," Lane decided. "If she asks about Rory, I'll know Rory isn't there, but if she doesn't I'll make up some excuse to see her."

"Okay," Jess replied. "I'll walk around a bit, see if I can come up with anything. I'll check the gazebo and diner and the bridge."

"Good," Lane agreed. "If you find her, call me and I'll come straight home."

Jess nodded as Lane slipped back into the house, plunging through the thick crowd forcefully. Jess opted to cut through the backyard. As he walked, a slender figure slowly came into focus, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed blue streaks in her hair.

He rolled his eyes. "Stalking me?"

She crossed her arms. "Nope," she insisted, eying him strangely. "You seem worried," she noted.

"Thanks, I had no idea."

"So, are you looking for her, too?" she asked.

"Who?"

"That girl...the one who goes to Yale." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Her friend, the one in the band, she was looking everywhere for her."

Jess nodded. "Kind of," he replied, not in the mood for conversation.

"Well, if it helps, she left a little before you even got here," the girl informed him.

"How do you know?"

"Because I saw her run out of here. I came out to smoke a cigarette and she burst through the door in tears."

"She was crying?"

"Are you slow? I said she was in tears, so uh..."

"Got it," Jess muttered, liking this girl less and less. "Any clue as to why?"

She shrugged. "Some people said it had something to do with that Dean guy. You know, the one who's married."

"Yeah, I know." He reached in his pocket and lit a cigarette, bringing it to his lips slowly. "Look, I should go," he remarked. He didn't have all day to stand here and humor her. "Uh, thanks, Joey," he replied, taking off.

She stood waif-like, posture skewed, arms crossed in annoyance. "It's Zoey!" she yelled after him, crushing her cigarette beneath her sneakers.

xXx

Hopping off the sidewalk and onto the trail that led into the woods, Jess ducked beneath the low branches, pushing himself towards the lake. He tossed his cigarette as he reached the bridge where he was relieved to find a very weary Rory laying down.

"What would the town say if they found their Ice Cream Queen hunched over in a drunken stupor?" he joked, walking up to her.

"Jess?" she mumbled, arching her neck to look up at him. She giggled slightly. "Jess...I don't think my legs work!"

Jess laughed despite his better judgment. "Well, aren't we lucky that you didn't roll in the lake before you found that out."

Rory frowned and rubbed her face. "Chumakinfunuvme?" she uttered.

"What?" Jess laughed.

Rory groaned and whined. "Don't laugh," she insisted. "I asked if you...were...if you were making fun of me."

Jess smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Good," Rory mumbled, her eyes shutting.

"Okay, Rory, I'm going to take you back to my apartment alright?" Jess informed her. "Lane's there with Paris, and I have a strong feeling that you wouldn't want your mom to see you like this."

Rory opened her eyes slowly. "'Kay," she agreed, allowing Jess to lift her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling against his chest as he carried her. "Oh! My purse!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"Got it," Jess huffed, dangling it from his hand.

Rory nodded, pressing her head back into him. "You look good with a purse," she giggled. "Very macho."

Jess grinned. "You're simply hilarious when you're toasted."

"Thank you and goodnight," Rory smiled, amused by her own voice.

xXx

"Setting you down now," Jess replied, laying Rory down onto his bed.

"I'm cold," she uttered, burrowing beneath the blankets. "Where's Lane?"

"Sleeping," Jess reminded her. "And Paris is passed out on the couch."

"Oh, okay, good," Rory mumbled, her eyes not opening. "Where are you?"

Jess laughed. "I'm right here. I'm gonna sleep on the floor."

"No," Rory insisted, shaking her head, her eyes now opening. "It's so cold," she pouted.

"Oh, no," Jess said, eyes wide. "You are entirely too drunk to be telling me what to do Madame Bovary."

Rory scrunched her nose. "Please?" she tried again. "Just lay here until I fall asleep?"

Jess sighed, knowing already he was powerless to her. "Fine," he agreed. "Just until you're asleep."

"Thank you," Rory said politely, pressing her face into his shirt as he laid down. "I'm really sorry," she added.

"What on earth could you possibly be sorry for?" Jess asked.

"For making you come find me and carry me all the way back here," she murmured sleepily. "I shouldn't have drank so much."

Jess stroked her hair. "It's fine. You're on spring break...you're supposed to. Although, I'd keep my distance from the Founder's Day Punch if I were you."

Rory laughed. "He was just so mean," she added after a moment.

"Who?" Jess asked, wrapping his arm around her.

"Dean," she said sullenly. "He was just being such a jerk. Or maybe I was the jerk...I can't remember."

"What did he say to you?" Jess asked, both curious and a little angry.

"He was drunk," Rory insisted. "He was complaining about Lindsey."

"His wife?" Jess assumed.

"Yeah," Rory nodded. "He was going on and on about how unhappy he was with her and how he regrets ever getting married..."

"Which I bet the entire town warned him about," Jess remarked.

"Yeah," Rory whispered. "Well, I tried to stop him from doing it. I wanted him to go to college."

"You want everyone to go to college," Jess teased.

"So sue me," Rory muttered.

"I can't, I don't have a law degree," Jess joked.

"See, should have gone to college," Rory smiled.

"So then what did he say that upset you?" Jess asked.

Rory slid her arm around Jess's waist. "He couldn't have meant it," she insisted.

"You don't have to defend him, you know," Jess told her.

"I know," Rory said. "He just...he started yelling at me for...for everything. For leaving him for you, for breaking his heart. He told me that I forced Lindsey on him when I betrayed him and that if I would have been a better person, he wouldn't be in this mess...and..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jess cut her off, feeling her tears before he heard them. "You know that's not true, Rory."

Rory shrugged. "I guess."

"Rory...it's not."

"I did hurt him though," she replied. "I didn't want to. But I was so mean..."

"You didn't mean to be," Jess assured her. "It was half my fault. I pushed your buttons until you snapped."

"Well, I did the same to you," Rory remarked.

"Rory, you just didn't know what you wanted," Jess reassured her. "You were unhappy with Dean even minus my involvement in anything."

"Yeah, but it wasn't his fault."

"Wasn't yours either," Jess assured her.

"I kissed you," she muttered. "I kissed you at Sookie's wedding. I went to the wedding with Dean and I kissed you."

Jess grew silent. "He doesn't know that," he reminded her.

"Still...I did it."

"So what?" Jess remarked. "You made a mistake, Rory. Just like Dean made a mistake by marrying Lindsey."

"I know," she said, calming down. "But you're wrong. It's completely different."

Jess sighed, gearing up for an argument. "Ror..."

"No, I mean, Dean made a mistake in marrying Lindsey, because that's not what he really wanted to do," Rory said, peering up at Jess.

"With you so far," Jess whispered.

"But I don't think I made a mistake in kissing you at Sookie's wedding, because even though it was wrong, it was what I wanted to do. So you see...it's different."

Jess kissed her forehead and brushed her hair back with his hand. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I really missed you," Rory mumbled, now half asleep.

Jess smirked as he watched her fall asleep. "If only you could hold that thought," he whispered.

xXx

Rory had been awake for eight minutes. She knew that, because at exactly six fifty seven she had woken up in a blur of confusion, head pounding and throat scratchy with thirst. The only coherent object that she could understand was the large alarm clock announcing to her that it was six fifty seven. She lied for an entire minute in that heavy state of confusion and disarray.

At exactly six fifty eight, she became aware of the fact that she was neither in her bed or her dorm room, and that she didn't recognize the dingy green walls she was staring at. It took another full minute before she remembered she could turn her head and look around. When she did flip her body around, the person next to her instinctively swept his arm around her waist. The mixture of exhaustion plus alcohol luckily kept her motor skills inept for another minute, ceasing her from screaming. She didn't realize she was next to Jess until exactly seven oh one. At seven oh two, she yelled at herself inwardly for pressing her head back to his chest. At seven oh three, she wondered whether she could move without waking him. At seven oh four, she realized that task would be quite impossible. And only at seven oh five did it occur to her that she had no recollection of the prior evening or how she ending up to be in Jess's room, let alone his bed, and even more so, she had no idea what had happened between them. It took eight minutes to come to this unsettling realization.

At seven oh six, her shyness gave way to fear, and she flipped the blankets up, grateful to find she was still fully dressed, save for her shoes. At seven after, she was gripped with the terror that something must have happened between her and Jess, and while unprepared to even begin going about figuring out how she felt about that, the unknown knowledge of what exactly had occurred tugged at her fiercely.

At seven oh eight, Rory shook Jess slightly, only to plunge him out of his deep sleep and into reality, where he instantly moved away from Rory out of instant shock, his body now teetering on the edge of the mattress, and since his arm was still around her, he haphazardly pulled her on top of him when he landed heavily onto the wooden floor.

"No wonder Luke hated waking you up," Rory grumbled, climbing to her feet. "Ow," she whined, climbing back into Jess's bed.

"Sorry," Jess remarked, getting to his feet. "You scared the hell out of me."

"_I _scared the hell out of _you_?" Rory remarked. "Why don't you flip that sentence around and see if it sounds better."

Jess took a seat at the edge of the bed, his back to Rory. "So I'm pretty sure you crammed four years worth of not drinking into only a few hours," he joked.

"What?" Rory began, trying to force her pounding head to reconstruct some pieces of the night before. "Oh, Lisa's party."

"Ding, ding, ding," Jess yawned, turning his neck towards Rory. "Then you decided to go on a little adventure through the woods."

"Drawing a blank," Rory replied, throwing a pillow over her head. "God, it's so bright," she complained.

Jess laughed, swinging his legs back onto the bed and scooted upward until he was sitting with his back against the headboard. "You were passed out at the bridge."

"The bridge?" Rory grumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow. "Why was I there?"

"Don't know," Jess lied. "Point is, you and Paris were both drunk...Lane and Dave carried Paris here and I brought you back as soon as I found you at the bridge."

"Weird," Rory commented, perplexed by Jess's words. "This is so weird."

Jess looked down as she peeked out from her pillow. "Any more questions?"

"Um...did we...I mean...we didn't..."

Jess snickered. "No, Rory, nothing happened. What kind of guy do you think I am?" he asked, feigning insult.

"Well, for all I know, we could have both been really drunk," Rory explained, sliding her head out from under the pillow. "No need to get all offended."

"It's fine," he remarked. "I only brought you in here, because Paris was on the couch. I was going to sleep on the floor, but you were freezing and you made me promise just to lay here until you went to sleep, and then I..."

"Fell asleep?" Rory finished.

"Now you know the story," Jess remarked.

"Yeah," Rory said, sitting up. "And that's it?"

Jess nodded. "Yeah...I'm sure it'll all come back to you later."

Rory slid off the bed. "I guess," she replied. "I um...I'm gonna go get some aspirin."

"Okay," Jess replied. "There should be some above the stove in the kitchen."

"Okay," Rory nodded, feeling awkward as she slipped out of Jess's room.

"Rory!" Lane remarked from the kitchen as Rory all but crawled towards her.

"Die!" another voice yelled, and Rory watched as a pillow flew at Lane, knocking her off her feet.

"Paris," Rory grumbled, catching sight of her. "What's the matter with you?"

"Why is she so loud?" Paris complained, her face completely covered by her long, blonde hair.

"Hush," Rory warned Paris, as Lane directed her to the aspirin and poured her a glass of water.

"I'm really sorry," Lane whispered, still worried Paris would attack at any minute.

"Huh?" Rory asked, gulping down the glass of water.

"Well, I wasn't sure whether to wake you or what...and I didn't want to go into Jess's room and..."

"It's fine," Rory insisted. "Nothing happened, thank god."

Lane nodded. "Yeah, I didn't think anything would...but he is Jess, so I was a little unsure."

"I need coffee," Rory remarked, changing the subject.

"Well, as you can tell, I have absolutely no food or drink in the kitchen yet," Lane nodded. "Luke's?"

Rory and Paris stared at each other mortified.

"We look like we just got run over by a tracker trailer," Paris groaned, entering the kitchen in search of the aspirin. Rory thrust the bottle into her hand.

"Well, I don't know," Lane started. "I have work in five minutes, so I have to go down there. You guys could shower here...borrow some of my clothes, but..."

"That'll take forever," Rory pouted.

"I got it," Jess said, joining them in the kitchen. He ran his hand through his hair casually, as if no part of this situation was weird to him.

"What do you mean, 'you got it'?" Rory questioned, still uneasy around him. She noticed he had changed into a band tee and striped button down shirt, the typical Jess trademark outfit. She then turned away, angry at herself for noticing.

"I mean, I'll run down, grab some coffee and pancakes, you two can shower and change, and that way no one will know how incredibly hung-over you are."

"You're enjoying this," Rory noted, frowning.

"Maybe a little," Jess grinned.

"Well, just help yourselves to my closet," Lane insisted. "There are towels in my bathroom...um..."

"Towels in the other one, too," Jess finished.

"Fine," Paris said, nodding. She turned to Rory. "I call Lane's shower."

"What?" Rory remarked. "Not fair!"

"Listen Sleeping Beauty," Paris barked, wagging her finger. "You have pretty hair and can live one day without conditioner. I need all the help I can get."

Rory frowned, turning to Jess. "There's something really disturbing about showering in your shower," she told him.

"I'll try not to let that offense slow down my coffee run," Jess said pointedly.

Rory sighed. "Okay, you win. But you better not walk in on me or anything."

Jess laughed. "Oh, please, you wish."

Rory's eyes widened. "I..."

"Children, children," Lane interrupted, breaking Jess and Rory apart. "Paris, my room is to the left. Rory, be nice, Jess is bringing you food and coffee, and you like food and coffee, don't you?"

"Well...yes," Rory admitted in defeat.

"So say thank you and go wash the smell of beer out of your hair, 'cause quite frankly, you're starting to turn my stomach," Lane ordered.

"Fine, fine," Rory muttered. "Oh wait...uhhh Jess...do you think you could..."

"Side of bacon and french toast...already thought of it," he grinned.

Rory paused in shock, momentarily frozen by the thought of him knowing her so well. "And um..."

"No, no eggs," Jess insisted. "You'll just get sick again...trust me."

She nodded, because no sooner had he spoken the word eggs than she felt her stomach begin to turn.

"Thanks," Rory said quietly, disappearing into his bathroom before he could say another word.

Lane grinned at Jess. "You know...Luke's going to know exactly who all this food is for."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "I know. Which is why you're putting the orders in separately and sparing me that aggravating conversation."

"Please, after last night, I think I owe you much more than that," Lane insisted, as they exited the apartment and bustled down the stairs.

"Don't mention it," Jess replied.

"Well, Jess, you did a really great thing," Lane told him. "I mean, Rory would have been god knows where...and Lorelai..."

"Seriously," Jess cut her off. "Don't mention it. Lorelai is the last person I need knowing about last night."

"I think she might be grateful," Lane replied.

"No, she'd find a way to blame it all on me," Jess grumbled.

Lane paused. "Maybe, but..."

"Let's just keep this between us, okay?" Jess asked.

"Okay," Lane agreed. "If that's how you want it."

"That's how I want it," Jess insisted, following her into the diner where Miss Patty and the other early bird diners all made certain he knew he was still unwelcome in their town.

xXx

Next part's almost done...leave me some feedback to keep me going!


	4. How Have You Been?

Dare You To Move  
Chapter Two: How Have You Been?

Okay, sorry for the loooooong delay. I use wordperfect and something is now preventing me from saving documents on word perfect or editing them...so when I converted this file to MS word...all of the quotation marks became capital A's and all of the apostrophes became = signs. Why? No clue! It took forever to fix, and there may be a mistake or two still floating around here such as unclosed quotes, or random = signs in the middle of words...if so, I aplologize!

xXx

Rory shrieked as she tumbled out of the shower, slipping on soap, and throwing her onto the floor.

"Damn," she muttered, pushing herself back upward and wrapping her body with a towel. She towel-dried her dripping hair and it was only after she shut the shower curtain that she realized she hadn't brought a change of clothes in with her from Lane's room.

Tightening the towel around her body, she pushed the door open slowly and heard the shower still running in Lane's room. She had barely stepped foot out of the bathroom when the front door creaked open and Jess stepped inside, four cups of coffee and a large brown bag in his hand.

"New look?" he remarked catching sight of Rory in her towel.

"Jess!"

"Right, sorry," he remarked, turning around. "How rude of me to not know you'd be half naked in my apartment."

Rory scowled, holding the towel in place as she crept to Lane's room. "Coast is clear!" she called out as she shut the door behind her. She quickly grabbed a pair of Lane's jeans and a green sweater and threw them on hurriedly. She slipped into a pair of Lane's socks, ran a brush through her damp hair, and headed back to the hallway.

"Here," Jess offered, extending a plastic bag, which Rory took hastily but not decidedly. "For your clothes," he clarified.

"Oh, yeah," Rory nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem," he insisted, slipping back into the living room.

Rory quickly scooped her clothes from the night before into a bag and tossed the towel into the hamper. She dropped the bag down on the kitchen floor and made a lunge for the coffee. She stared inquisitively at the four cups.

"One for me," Jess said, as if reading her thoughts. He scooped the cup up and grabbed a box of food. "One for Paris. And two, of course, for you."

Rory grinned. She couldn't help it. "Bless you," she said, bowing.

Jess laughed, taking his food into the living room. Rory followed his lead, balancing one cup of coffee on top of the other and using her free hand to carry in the bag of food.

"That Paris sure can shower," Jess remarked, sitting down at the end of the couch.

"Well, she never does anything half-assed," Rory commented, grinning as she sat down next to him.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Jess asked as he began to dig into his pancakes.

"Oh, you know, nothing big. I have to have Paris drive me back to the school so I can bring my laundry home to mom's...then I'm probably going to finish my latest book..."

"May I?" Jess asked, curious.

Rory rolled her eyes. "_For Whom the Bells Toll_," she replied.

"Hemingway?" Jess smiled, looking pleased with himself. "Well, very glad you didn't scratch him off your list."

"Yes, well, you were right about him," she agreed. "Plus, I had to read _The Sun Also Rises_ for my lit. class, and well, I figured, why not try another?"

"You won't be disappointed," Jess insisted, looking right at her.

"I believe you," Rory nodded, breaking the gaze they had begun. "So, um, I figure I'll finish that while I wait for my clothes and then I told Lane I'd come here and help her paint."

Jess laughed. "For that you have my sympathy," he remarked.

"What? Why?" Rory demanded.

"We painted the hallway that weird blue color she wanted..."

"Hey, I like that weird blue color..."

"Well, whatever, point is, she freaked every five minutes, and then insisted on taking a break every half hour, and then she wouldn't let me paint unless she was supervising, so it ended up being me doing a lot of painting and her standing over my shoulder the entire time."

Rory laughed. "That's Lane."

"Yes, Lane and her technicolor dream house," Jess muttered.

"She's just excited. I mean, aren't you? Just a little? I mean, I know that the whole James Dean thing you're going for means displaying any emotion makes you irrevocably uncool, but I think he'd even allow you to make an exception for getting your own place."

Jess shook his head. "I cannot believe that I bought you two coffees and yet, here you sit, insulting me."

Rory rolled her eyes. "So, what's up with you? I mean...I heard you tell Luke you have a job..."

"Yes, and not at Wal-Mart," Jess grinned. "It's just this small publishing place I hooked up with in Philly. Some of the guys wanted to expand it a bit, in a smaller neighborhood, and so me and a few of them started a branch in New Haven."

"Sounds very mature," Rory teased.

Jess rolled his eyes. "You haven't met the guys yet, so don't color me all white collar."

"I'm just glad you found something you like is all," Rory concluded. "And don't worry, I would_ never_ color you white collar."

Jess grinned and set down his coffee. "So you're not mad that I'm not going to college?" Jess asked.

Rory frowned. "But you told Luke..."

"Yeah, I know what I told Luke...but, well, I just don't see the point," Jess insisted. "I mean, I already finished what I set out to do...and I don't want to be anything with a degree...I mean, could you see me as a doctor?"

"Yeah, but Jess, you could...wait, what did you finish?" Rory asked.

Jess shook his head. "It's a surprise. Well, not entirely, but as I don't have it here to show to you, we'll pretend I'm keeping you in suspense."

Rory started to protest, but knew it would be a futile attempt. Whatever it was that Jess had accomplished, he'd tell her when he was ready. That was how he operated. No amount of pressure would change that.

"Ah! Rory!" Paris barged in, hair dripping wet. "I'm disgusting!"

Rory sucked in her lips to keep from laughing. Paris was half dressed, a pair of Lane's rocker jeans with holes up and down each leg, clung to her body and a pale pink long sleeved tee clashed horribly with the jeans.

"Um..." Rory began in protest as Paris took the last cup of coffee from the kitchen counter.

"I'm so late," Paris remarked, shaking her head.

"Paris, it's Spring Break," Rory reminded her. "Relax."

"I have to meet Asher," Paris informed Rory.

"Asher?" Jess questioned.

"Oh, you do not want to ask that question," Rory silenced him. She turned back to Paris. "Okay, well, give me five minutes and we'll go."

Paris shook her head. "No, no time to stop at Yale..."

"But my car's at Yale," Rory reminded her.

"Rory, I'm late. He gets so irritable when I'm late..."

"Or maybe he's just irritable cause he's old," Rory remarked.

Paris silenced her with a look. "I can come back for you later," she insisted.

Rory huffed. "Don't bother, I'll figure it out."

Paris nodded, grabbing her purse. "Well, uh, thanks," she said awkwardly to Jess. "Rory, you're sure..."

"Yeah, yeah," Rory cut her off grumpily. "I'll see you in a week."

"Well, okay," Paris said, ducking out of the apartment. The door shut, enveloping Rory and Jess in a silence they had become all too familiar with lately.

"So, I have to ask," Jess replied, closing his food container. "Asher?"

"Yes, you just _had_ to ask," Rory groaned, shoving more pancakes in her mouth. "Well, he's as old as my grandfather, actually he happens to be good friends with my grandfather, and well, he's a professor at Yale and Paris is..."

"Okay, got the memo, and I'm erasing it from my head as we speak," Jess cringed.

"Thank you!" Rory remarked, exasperated. "I was beginning to think I was the only person who found their relationship unsettling."

"Okay, there's open-minded, and then there's cruel and unusual punishment," Jess remarked, prompting Rory to laugh. Jess smiled at the sight of her, causing her to look down and concentrate on her food. "So, um," Jess continued. "Do you need a ride?"

Rory shook her head. "Thanks, but I should go find my mom. She'll be wondering what happened by now."

Jess looked perplexed. "How would she know anything happened? Lane called her and played it cool last night and she wasn't expecting you until later today, right?"

Rory nodded. "Oh yeah, but a random phone call from Lane is still a random phone call from Lane. And, she's probably called my cell and dorm by now. And, since she's a creature of habit, she's most likely downstairs at Luke's, and I'm certain Luke's told her all about..."

"I didn't say a word to Luke," Jess swore.

"I know that, Jess, but come on, you ordered four coffees and enough food to feed a small village. Luke's not dumb."

"And neither is Lorelai," Jess added, understanding her point.

"Exactly," Rory nodded. "So, um, thanks, really Jess, for everything," she began getting up and slipping on her boots.

Jess shrugged. "No big deal."

"Um...and could you maybe just forget about all that stuff I said?" Rory added, looking up hopefully.

Jess waited a beat. "What stuff?"

"Last night..." Rory replied.

Jess turned. "You...uh...remember?"

Rory nodded. "It all kind of slowly and embarrassingly came back to me."

Jess shrugged. "Nothing to be embarrassed about," he said simply.

Rory smiled. "Yeah but..."

"Consider it forgotten."

Rory looked down, suddenly feeling terrible. "I mean...not that I didn't mean it," she added. "Because...because I did. It just doesn't...it doesn't change anything."

Jess shot her his infamous half smile. "Rory, I get it."

"Okay," Rory said, getting up and grabbing her purse. "So um, I guess I'll be seeing you."

"Guess you will," Jess concluded, following her over to the door to let her out. Rory slipped into the hallway, turning back once as Jess hesitated to close the door. "Hey, Rory?"

Rory stopped. "Yeah?" She allowed her eyes to meet his.

"Never mind," he said, gazing at her for only an instant before shutting the door, leaving Rory frozen for a few moments.

xXx

"Okay, hun, you have to give me something to work with," Lorelai replied as they pulled into their driveway.

Rory groaned.

"Okay, I let you sit in silence at Luke's...drive you all the way to Yale where even my Lady Marmalade impersonation can't crack a smile...then you decide you'd rather leave your car there for the week, so I have to turn around...and now, here we are an hour and forty five minutes later, and you haven't said a word. Mama needs the scoop."

Rory sighed. "You're very annoying when you're persistent," she commented.

"Spill."

Rory let her head fall on the dashboard. "Okay," she began, looking down. "Paris and I went to a party where Lane's band was playing."

"Crazy kids," Lorelai commented. Rory shot her a look. "Okay, okay, sorry, but I already knew that part. Go on."

"Well, I guess Lane invited Jess when she thought I wasn't going and anyway, the point is, when I got there Dean was really, really drunk and started saying all this stuff..."

"Dean?" Lorelai replied, a bit shocked.

"_Mom_," Rory snapped.

"Okay, go."

"So anyway, he was just saying all this stuff about how unhappy he was with Lindsey and how it was my fault, because I hurt him and pushed him into her..."

"That slimy little..."

"He was drunk," Rory defended. "And I don't know, I started feeling pretty bad, because you know, I did hurt him, and I did kiss Jess at the wedding..."

"Okay, not that it makes it right, but he doesn't know about that," Lorelai offered.

"Yeah," Rory agreed. "But, I don't know, what he was saying just all made sense last night, and uh, it kind of led me..."

"Down the hall and to the keg, not stopping to collect your $200?" Lorelai finished.

"Pretty much," Rory nodded. "Anyway, Paris was out of her mind too..."

"How is that any different from Paris the other 354 days of the year?"

"You know what I mean," Rory replied. "And I ran into Dean again, and I decided to leave, only I couldn't think of where to go..."

"So you went to find Jess?"

"No!" Rory remarked. "Could you let me finish?"

"Okay, but you'll soon realize that my commentary is what makes life interesting."

Rory rolled her eyes. "I ended up at the bridge, and I'm not entirely sure why I went there, except that, I go there a lot when I'm upset. Well, Lane was looking for me when Jess got to the party and once Paris explained how upset I looked, Jess guessed where I might be. So, Jess found me there and he carried me to the apartment and since Paris was on the couch..."

"He _did not_," Lorelai remarked, outraged.

"Mom!" Rory interjected, yet again. "Just listen! He put me in his bed and he was going to sleep on the floor!"

Lorelai maintained her composure. "I'm still not liking where this is going..."

Rory sighed. "So I started telling him about Dean and asked him to sit next to me until I fell asleep...and when I woke up, he was still there."

"That's it?"

"Yes," Rory promised.

Lorelai frowned. "Well, frankly, I'm a little disappointed. I was waiting for the drama to set in."

Rory ignored her. "Oh, and then he got breakfast for Paris and I in the morning."

Lorelai nodded. "You know, I get that he's trying to be a nice guy now, but honey, you don't have to be nice back. It's okay to be mad for a while."

Rory nodded. "I know," she replied, opening the jeep door. "Anyway, I'm kind of tired, so do you mind if I just go to bed for a little while?"

Lorelai kissed her forehead. "That's fine, hun. I'll start your laundry for you."

"Thanks mom."

xXx

Jess knocked on the Gilmore's door around eleven thirty that morning. Lorelai answered, reluctant at first to let him in, but finally concluded that he'd found Rory the night before, and thus deserved an invite at the very least.

"She's asleep," Lorelai said, looking towards Rory's door.

"I kind of figured she would be," Jess nodded. He handed Lorelai a bag. "That=s um...Rory's from last night...I'm guessing she told you, cause she tells you everything."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks," she said taking the bag and setting it down. "And thanks for last night Jess."

Jess shrugged. "Least I could do," he replied.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"So um..."

"Something you came by to say, Jess?" Lorelai asked harshly. She couldn't help it. She wasn't wired like Rory. She couldn't just play nice with the boy who had crushed her daughter's entire world.

Jess sighed. "That how it's gonna be?"

"Well, what did you expect, Jess?" Lorelai remarked. "A frickin' welcome back wagon?"

"No," Jess said quietly. "Can I ask you a question?"

Lorelai crossed her arms, caught off guard by his audacity. "Yes. No. I don't know. Maybe."

"Well, it's just, when you were pregnant with Rory..."

"I don't see how that's any of your concern," Lorelai snapped.

Jess sighed. "It's just...you know what, forget it."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and put her hand on the door to stop him from leaving. "I'm listening," she insisted, reluctantly.

Jess looked unsure. "It's just that you left with Rory, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, did you even tell her dad you were leaving?"

"I thought it was better he didn't know...and how is this even relevant to anything pertaining to you?"

Jess shrugged. "I don't know, just thought maybe you can relate."

"How so?" Lorelai replied, exhausted with the conversation.

"Just, cause, you loved him, right?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, then why didn't you tell him you were leaving?"

"Because, I thought that he would be better off if he lived his own life," Lorelai replied. "I thought it would be easier that way." She paused. Why was she telling him any of this? "Okay, Jess, seriously, why..."

"It's just, that's what I was doing," Jess insisted.

"When you left?" Lorelai remarked. "You were taking your one year old away to California with you?"

Jess rolled his eyes. "Forget it."

"No, really, I'm interested in hearing how this excuse plays out," she smirked.

"Oh, this is rich," Jess muttered. "Look, I'm sorry I hurt her. If I could do anything over again, I wouldn't want her to be hurt, not for a second, okay? But, my future was looking pretty crappy. And I hadn't heard from my mom in months, and when my dad appeared I thought that maybe this was my chance to start over, and I didn't know if I'd be back or not. I didn't know if it'd work out, and I didn't want Rory involved in that mess. So maybe it seems like I made the worst decision possible, but I was trying to do what I thought was best for her, okay?"

Lorelai was unable to utter a word.

"Look, I just wanted to drop that off and well, tell you that, because I guess, I just thought that maybe you'd understand," Jess muttered, letting himself out. "Obviously I was wrong."

"Obviously!" Lorelai yelled after him, though she wasn't sure she really meant it. She stood stunned, torn between reason and anger as the door swung shut in her face.

xXx

"Thanks for meeting me," Dean smiled, pulling Rory's chair out for her. Rory sat down apprehensively, accepting the cup of coffee he pushed towards her too. The two were at Weston's for breakfast. Dean had called and all but begged Rory to allow him to clear the air, and being Rory, she could hardly decline.

"Coffee doesn't suck today," she commented, nodding. Weston's coffee was rarely ever consistent. Some days it was amazing, some days it was various degrees of terrible. Today happened to be one of the better days.

"Glad to hear it," Dean laughed, still amused by the small attributes Rory exhibited.

"So," Rory began, prying her eyes off of the menu.

"So, um, right," Dean began, scratching his neck nervously. "About the party."

"Quite a memorable night," Rory nodded.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately I do remember it."

Rory stared straight at him. "You said some things..."

"That I didn't mean," he finished. "Rory, I was upset at Lindsey, and I was upset at myself, but never at you."

"Really? Cause the theme of the evening seemed to be No One Leaves Until Rory Cries," she remarked, a slice of edge to her voice. She looked down, embarrassed. She hadn't meant to come off so harshly.

Dean, as always, understood perfectly. "I guess I deserve that," he admitted, soaking up the blame. "I've just been thinking about the past a lot lately...you know, trying to figure out how my life got so messed up. Well, then I saw Jess at the diner earlier, and I guess I just snapped. It reminded me of the way things used to be, and I realized I missed those days, before Jess, and well, I always wonder if there wasn't something I could have done to have kept you from falling for such a jerk."

"Well..."

"Ready to order?" Kirk asked, coming by in full Weston's garb, pink apron and all. Rory thought it best not to comment on this interesting choice of uniform, but that didn't quite stifle her grin.

"I'll just have the french toast," Rory decided.

"Just pancakes for me," Dean replied, handing Kirk the menus. He turned back to Rory.

Rory sighed. "Dean, you didn't do anything wrong...before, when we were together. I just, fell for Jess, and I didn't want to, but I couldn't help it. You were my boyfriend and you were so good to me, but I couldn't control it..."

"I know, you don't have to defend yourself," Dean insisted. "That was a long time ago. I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. The whole mess with Lindsey and I has nothing to do with you. I married her knowing I didn't really love her and I guess I thought that maybe by doing so, you'd realize that..."

"Oh," Rory remarked quietly. "Oh."

Dean shrugged. "It was a stupid thing to do. _Really stupid_."

Rory attempted a half smile. "Once this kid Danny stayed at the inn and my mom kind of took a liking to him. She came home everyday with new stories about how cool he was and how smart he was, and I started to think that maybe she wanted to trade me in for Danny, so when she went to bed, I super-glued all of the doors shut so that she couldn't go to work and see him."

Dean cocked an eyebrow.

"I just meant that everyone does stupid things!" Rory insisted.

Dean laughed. "What were you like seven?"

Rory shrugged. "Six."

Dean grinned. "I just...I miss _this_ Rory."

"Talking?"

"Yeah, talking."

"Oh, well, we can talk," Rory insisted. "I was well taught in the art of conversation." She paused. "But, uh..._Lindsey_...?"

Dean hung his head solemnly. "I know. She wouldn't like knowing we were talking. And, I know I have some things to work out with her." He met Rory's eyes. "But I will. I'll fix this," he promised.

Rory nodded. "Okay. I believe you."

Dean smiled. "Good. Actually, if you wanted to go, there's this place in New Haven that's having this huge book sale, because apparently a few bookstores in the area are shutting down."

"Poor bookstores!"

"But that means the books will be really cheap..."

"Screw the bookstores!" Rory joked. "How do you even know about this?"

Dean shrugged. "Just heard it around. It's next Saturday, so if you wanted to, we could go there, look at some books, get some lunch?"

Rory hesitated. There was absolutely no harm in going with Dean to this book sale. She knew that. Still, she had the feeling Lindsey would be left in the dark about the whole matter. She wasn't certain how she felt about that.

"Rory?" Dean pressed.

She smiled. "Okay," she agreed. After all, it was just a book sale and lunch with a friend, nothing more.

xXx

"Cold pizza?" Lane offered as Jess stumbled into the apartment loudly. Jess had been mysteriously missing when Rory came over the night before to help her paint and she hadn't seen him before she left for work in the morning. Things weren't tense between them, but they were a little awkward. The two had never been friends and now they were living in the same twenty by twenty square footage. She didn't blame him for staying out all day. It was _weird_.

But, that morning she had decided that this odd relationship they had going on where he mumbled, "Mornin'" and she waved back nervously would have to come to an end. They were _living together_. They were _roommates_ and from what little information she had been able to gather over the years, roommates generally liked each other.

Thus, she opted to order pizza in the hope that Jess might return home and they could eat together. It would be weird and she was certain the time spent together would somewhat resemble terrorist torture tactics, but this weird silence had to end at some point or they would never feel at home with one another.

Jess seemed aware of Lane's intent. She thought for a moment he might say no, as his eyes drifted over to his room anxiously, but he eventually turned back and gave her a slight nod. "Okay."

"Oh!" Lane remarked, a bit surprised. "Want me to heat it up?"

Jess shrugged. "I got it," he insisted, turning the oven on. "Microwave pizza sucks."

"Very true," Lane nodded. "And not all of us have the Gilmore's stomach for cold pizza."

Jess shuddered at the thought. "Pizza was made to be eaten warm. I never understood the concept of cold pizza."

"Nor did I," Lane agreed. She paused, the awkward tension hovering above them. "Uh, you want coffee?"

"Coffee and pizza?" Jess questioned, perplexed.

Lane shook her head. "Right. That would be weird and again I beg you to consider that I'm used to eating with Rory and Rory has weird eating habits."

"That she does," Jess grinned. He paused, eying Lane curiously. "Just…relax," he insisted.

Lane nodded, forcing a nervous smile. "Well, I'm not crazy right? This is…"

"Weird?" Jess finished. He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess…but it'll get easier."

Lane smiled again. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Jess nodded. "I lived with this guy in Philly for a while…he used to sniff Sharpies all day long and he only ate cheeseburgers and bananas. _That_ was weird. This? Not so bad."

Lane smirked. "I _do_ like a good banana…now don't go rubbing it in, my mother's pride in my love of fruit is punishment enough."

Jess laughed. "No wonder Luke hired you."

"Hey, eating pizza," she insisted, wagging her finger at the box.

"See," Jess teased. "Not so weird anymore."

Lane nodded. "I agree."

"Aw, now I think we just had our first heart to heart…"

"Now, it's weird," Lane insisted, laughing. "So I rented a bunch of movies, mainly because we don't have cable, and I thought if you weren't going to be busy tonight we could watch one?" Lane felt awkward again, hoping Jess didn't think she was insinuating any sort of date-like scenario. "Dave and I were going to stay in and watch movies, but he has this major exam tomorrow and he likes to cram."

Jess nodded. "Yeah, why not?"

A 'Yeah, why not' from Jess Mariano was like a 'Hell yeah!' from any normal, competent person as far as Lane could tell. She nodded. "Okay," she said. "Nothing cheesy or sappy," she warned him.

"'Cause we all know I'm a cheese and sap type of guy," Jess remarked.

Lane laughed as she walked into the living room, searching through her movies for an appropriate selection. She smiled as she looked around at the apartment she and Jess and claimed. _This is going to work_, she realized, smiling.

xXx

Don't worry, we'll get Dean out of the picture soon enough...but there will be more R/D torture...I know, it's terrible, right? I agree! R/R!


End file.
